Charcuterie Season is Here!

Tis the Season for Entertaining!

When entertaining rolls around, charcuterie boards that are festive for the holidays is my go-to entertaining spread! Let’s talk about creating the ultimate festive charcuterie board with cheeses and fun additions! Meat and cheese boards are customizable, gorgeous, require no cooking, and are the perfect hearty appetizer spread!

Charcuterie boards are not only gorgeous, they contain a combination of flavors and nibbles for a simple no-fuss party snack! It’s not difficult to prepare a meat and cheese board that everyone will rave about!

First off … how do you pronounce charcuterie? [shahr-koo-tuh–ree].

Secondly… What is a charcuterie? Charcuterie is the art of preparing meats which are often cured or smoked such as bacon, ham or salami. A charcutier is a person who prepares charcuterie and while the term is loosely translated in English to “pork butcher”, any kind of meat can be used.

The wonderful thing about a charcuterie board is its versatility. You can mix and match flavors and textures. You can focus on a particular style or region. You can leave some items off the menu altogether. For instance, you could nix bread or crackers from a gluten-free board, or substitute fig salami for Italian salami and hummus for pâté on a vegetarian board. Or double-down on variations of a group favorite (a culinary tour of the pâtés of various regions of France, anyone?).

Now that we have all that out of the way. Lets start building this thing.

Board: Find the right boards to build your platters. Large cutting boards, marble slabs, slate boards or ceramic platters are great options.

Meat: I estimate about 3-4 slices of meat per person when building a board. I try to include a variety of flavors and textures for example a sliced pepper salami, a rolled prosciutto and thoughtfully piled ham.

Cheese: Choose a variety of cheeses; about 1 or 2 oz per person as an hors d’oeuvre. Look for various hard and soft cheeses from mellow to sharp. Cheeses are easiest served already sliced.

Bread and Crackers: Again variety is key, I like to include buttery flaky crackers, grain crackers and thinly sliced and toasted baguettes.

Fruit & Nuts: Both dried and fresh fruit will add gorgeous color and lots of flavor to your charcuterie board! As you are purchasing fruits, keep a variety of colors in mind for a beautiful board. Nuts should be shelled and salted.

Pickles, Olives and Dips: Adding small bowls filled with dill pickles, olives, jellies, mustards and delicious dips is a great way to add some zip and flavor to your board.

Most of the items can be prepared, washed and/or sliced ahead of time meaning this easy appetizer can take just minutes to prepare.

If you are looking for some major charcuterie inspo below is a list of Sultan Newman Group’s favorite places to take family and friends around Denver!